Chinese Catholicism After 1949

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Chinese Catholicism After 1949

• 1, A Brief Historythree stages
• 2, The Sino-Vatican  Relationship
• 3,Two more considerations
• Lay people in CCC,
• Identity as a Chinese Catholic

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I,Brief History

• 1, Franciscan Missionaries
• the first Catholic church was founded around
  1294 ,Yuan Dynasty, by Giovanni da Monte
  Corvino(1247-1328 ), bishop at Beijing(1307)
  during the Pope Nicholas IV and Clement V period.
  
• Around 30,000 Catholics by the end of Yuan
  Dynasty(1369) .
• 2, Jesuits and other Missionaries bear fruit
• By the beginning of 18 century, there was 300,000
  Catholics in China and 3 archdioceses.
• Rites Controversy(17c-18c) missionaries
  forbidden in China, only about 30 missionaries
  left secretly before the first Opium War.
  However, the foreigner missionaries came back
  there were 5 mission districts, and 700,000
  Catholics by the end of 19th Century,.
• 3,since 1949 to now
• The Catholic population from 3.28 millions, 143
  Dioceses (30 Chinese Bishops among them ) in 1949
  to 5.60 millions, 97 dioceses now.

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Genghis Khan---- Kublai Khan
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Beato Giovanni da Montecorvino
Marco Polo

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Matteo Ricci

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(1552-1610)
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SDB in mainland China

• Feb,1906, Fr. L.Versiglia with other 6 SDB
  arrived in Macau
• 1917 SDB entered into Shaoguan,GuangDong where
  Matteo Ricci stayed for few years.
• 1924 SDB in Shanghai, opened school and churches,
  later on in other places like Jiangsu, Yunnan and
  Beijing etc.

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Catholic Statistics
according to blue book of religions 2009,p95

• year 1999 2008
• Dioceses 110 97
  ?
• Bishops 70
  50 ? (among which only 24 are under 55 years old,
  some others are over 80/90 yrs old )
• Priests 1200 1800?
• Churches 5600 6000?
• Seminaries 36 20 ?
• Seminarians 1900 1200 ?
• Sisters 3000 3000
• novice 1000 3000
• Total populations 5million 5.60million ?
  

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HK Holy Spirit Study Center statistics to
November 2008

• Catholic population 12 million
• Dioceses 110
  and 22 without regular priests?
• Bishops 59 public and 50
  underground
• Priests 1800 junior 50
  senior (public church)
• and 1000 junior 50
  senior (underground )
• Churches 6000
• Seminaries 20 and
  10 (underground)
• Seminarians 1200 and
  530 (underground)
• Sisters 3500
  and 1250 (underground)
• novices 200
  and 200 (underground)
• Novitiate 40
  and 20 (underground)

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Puzzle Catholic population Statistics

• It was said that the Catholic population went
  from 3.28 millions, 143 Dioceses (30 Chinese
  Bishops among them ) in 1949 to 5.60 millions,
  97 dioceses now.
• is the Catholic population accurate?
• 5.6 million, 6 million or 12million?
• However, 60,000100,000 baptized annually, still
  less than 1 as it was in 1949
• Why?

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II, Sino-Vatican Relationship

• Different levels to discuss this relationship
• Chinese Government vs. Holy See
• Chinese Catholic church(CCC) vs. Holy
  see
• State vs.universal church vs. CCC
• other local churches vs. CCC
• The core of the relationship is how the Holy see
  and Chinese Government look at the Chinese
  Catholic church. ------Ms. Wang Meixiu, the
  Expert on Sino-Vatican Relation

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II-1,Holy SeeChinese State Government

• A, brief history
• ---Get rid of the Patronage--? indigenization
  
• Celso Costantini the Apostolic delegate
  (???1876-1958) in China during 1920s
• -Diplomatic relationship between Chinese
  Government and Holy See was set up in the year
  1943.
• - Expulsion of the apostolic Nuncio Antonio
  Riberi on Sept 1951. Since 1952, Taiwan
  continued the relationship with Holy See.
• 1958---1979, relations broke up. Now been
  negotiating the normalization.
• B,Mutual Expectations
• Two rationales for Chinese Government to deal
  with Vatican One China, no interference in the
  Chinese Internal affair.
• Vatican rational full religious freedom.

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II-2,CCC and Pontiff

• A, brief history
• 1949-1955, CCC kept fidelity to supreme Pontiff
• 1957, Chinese Patriotic Association of
  Catholics .
• 1958 first Two Episcopal ordinations
  without papal mandate
• Church revival after 1980s, reconciliation
  process,82\83 reopening of the seminaries
• 1980, Bishops' Conference of Catholic Church in
  China
• 
  Chinese Regional Bishops' Conference
• church schism Patriotic Church and underground
  church
• B, Reconciliation process
• May.1988, 8 points instruction to grant full
  and legitimate exercise of episcopal
  jurisdiction to those underground bishops by
  Congregation for the Evangelization of People
• May 2007, letter from holy see to Chinese
  Catholics, asking for church Integrity and
  reconciliation

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II-3, State and CCC

• 1) Constitution of the People's Republic of China
  (1982)
• 2) March 1982, No.19 Document on Religion
  released by Central Committee of CPC,
• The seminaries and church reopen, the
  ecclesiastical properties returned
• 3) Jan 1994,Decree 144-145 of the State Council,
  on religious venues, provision registration and
  administration
• 4)July 2004, Regulations on Religious Affairs,

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The rule to understand the sino-vatican
relationship

• respect the traditions
• both the church jurisdiction and
• the governance in Chinese history
• the dominance of the central power, and the
  subordination of religion in China
• central state power????,????,????,????,?????
• The benefit and side-effect to the
  religious groups from this governance
• Harmony\ Dialogue\Reconciliation

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III)two more related issues

• Lay People in Catholic church history.
• The hierarchy -----Lay Role

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Whats our indentity

• the evolution of Chinese Clothing
• from particular ethnic to globalized-----?what
  and how to be indigenous

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